Czech morning news in brief: top stories for Feb. 3, 2021

The Czech Republic ranked 28th in the Global Connectivity Index last year. It was outranked by China, Italy, and Lithuania coming in at 23 out of 79 countries evaluated in the ranking. Compiled annually by tech company Huawei, the ranking maps 79 countries based on their performance in the field of information and communication based on indicators such as the impact of ICT on the national economy and the potential for economic growth. The U.S. has led the ranking for the past five years, with 87 points out of 100 in this year's ranking. Singapore (81), Switzerland (81), Sweden (80), and Denmark (77) follow among the top five countries for the third year in a row. Full index here.

Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček appointed three Czech personalities on Tuesday to promote the good name of the Czech Republic abroad as unpaid goodwill envoys. Czechoslovak Hussite Church priest Martina Viktorie Kopecká, reporter Janek Rubeš, and film-maker Jiří Strach received the honorary title which is bestowed upon successful Czechs who can show the world what the Czech Republic has to offer, Petříček said. Kopecká is a member of the World Council of Churches central executive committee, Rubeš is known for his video reports unveiling tourist traps in Prague, and Strach is a director of Czech feature films.

A school in Ostrava is being sued by parents for requiring their child to wear a mask. Not an isolated case, as several lawsuits have been reported in which parents claim that wearing face coverings during instruction is harmful to the students in question. The cases are being dealt with by regional courts; according to one Czech principal, a tutorial has been circulating on the Internet about how to file legal complaints about masks. Currently only the first and second years of Czech primary schools are learning in person. (via iDnes.cz)

The coronavirus crisis has significantly increased the number of people working from home, with many finding that employers assume or even require employees to be accessible via mobile and e-mail round the clock. The European Parliament says that people in home office have the right to disconnect from their work. At its last sitting, EU Parliament said it was committed to putting a stop to "digital slavery". In late January parliament called on the EC to come up with a law allowing employees to disconnect from work during non-work hours without consequences and setting minimum standards for remote work. Read more here.